Adobe Animate CC (Adobe Flash Professional) for Windows

2D animation for all

Adobe Animate CC (Adobe Flash Professional) is a 2D animation authoring environment for Windows and macOS. It supports timeline-based vector and bitmap animation with symbol libraries, layered timelines, and keyframed motion, classic, and shape tweens. Authoring targets include HTML5 Canvas, Adobe AIR, sprite sheets, animated GIF, and video, with optional WebGL. 

Adobe Animate CC (Adobe Flash Professional)’s Interactivity is scripted with JavaScript for Canvas documents and ActionScript 3 for AIR. Rigging tools include Asset Warp and Envelope Deformer. HTML5 Canvas documents publish HTML and JavaScript through CreateJS-compatible output. Publishing is configured with document-specific Publish Settings and a Quick Share panel.

Adobe Animate CC (Adobe Flash Professional) authoring centers on a Stage, a timeline, and a Library of symbols for graphic, button, and movie clip. Instances reference symbol timelines and properties; frame labels coordinate playback. Motion and classic tweens interpolate position, scale, rotation, color, and filters; shape tweens morph vector paths between keyframes. Onion skin displays frames. Layers stack content, mask gate visibility, and guide layers define motion paths without rendering in the exported output.

Design, tween, script, publish

Interactivity is authored per document type. HTML5 Canvas documents use JavaScript in the Actions panel, emitting CreateJS calls and event listeners. ActionScript 3 attaches to frames and instances for AIR documents, accessing display list APIs and timeline control. Code snippets insert common handlers. Control > Test runs a preview; Canvas launches a browser, AIR builds installers. However, the scripting model differs between Canvas and AIR documents.

Asset deformation uses the Asset Warp tool to generate meshes over vector or bitmap artwork; pins define control points, and bones create articulated rigs. Flexi bones add bendable segments for posing. The Envelope Deformer reshapes edges with Bezier handles for non-rigid adjustments. Publishing uses document-specific settings to output HTML/JS, AIR packages, sprite sheets, animated GIFs, video, and OAM. Quick Share exports formats without opening settings.

Code and canvas

Adobe Animate CC (Adobe Flash Professional) operates as a timeline-based 2D authoring system on Windows and macOS with symbol libraries, multi-layer timelines, and keyframed tweening. Interactivity is implemented via JavaScript for Canvas and ActionScript 3 for AIR. Distinctive tooling includes Asset Warp meshes, Flexi bones, and Envelope Deformer for geometric control. Output targets include HTML/JS, AIR, sprite sheets, GIF, video, OAM, and SWF. WebGL and Canvas outputs depend on runtime scripting libraries.